The long term objective of the UCSC- MHIRT Research Program is to actively engage underrepresented minority students in on-going, long term international, bio medically relevant research projects conducted in both the natural and laboratory environment in collaboration with students and faculty from the host country. With a long tradition of both graduate and undergraduate research training, UCSC-MHIRT offers challenging and unique biological research opportunities that combine rich and stimulating cultural experience with productive and creative scientific research career training. These experiences provide UCSC-MHIRT students with broader international scientific and educational perspectives, increased self-confidence and independence, plus substantial improvements in technical expertise. Our program has produced a satisfying increase in the number our underrepresented minority students choosing advanced scientific training and consequently the leadership of the next generation of biomedical scientists and academic faculty. The research provides a broad spectrum of exciting projects in five major foreign sites; Patagonia, New Zealand, Panama and Japan ranging from basic biomedical and epidemiological investigation to focused lab research on disease etiology included in the NCMHD mission statement. These include: 1) morbid obesity and related conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and renal insufficiency and 2) early childhood developmental pathologies resulting from malnutrition or starvation. 3) Disease transfer from wild long range migratory species, egg birds to humans. The UCSC- MHIRT program will contrive direct scientific data to these vital studies and will do so in the context of providing MHIRT students with exceptional scientific training in fields of immediate biomedical relevance. Recently, results obtained from our long-term studies have provided important clinical insights into several severe human pathologies that disproportionately impact US minority populations and emerging countries of Pacific Rim.